The prior art includes systems for rolling dough sheets as specified above. These involve the use of planar or curved moving surfaces defined by belts or the like. These surfaces co-operate with the conveying surface and, by friction, roll the dough sheet in the desired manner.
In the said systems particular attention must be paid to the cleaning of the said moving surfaces. For this purpose the systems are provided with special scraper means which, in a position out of the way of the shaping station proper, remove from the said belts the traces of flour or similar residues which inevitably stick to the said moving surfaces during the rolling.
It should be understood, of course, that these residues do not represent a contamination or soiling of the environment of the shaping process, being derived purely from the semifinished bakery products.
This cleaning operation is necessary for two fundamental reasons. In the first place the residues could build up and subsequently detach themselves in the vicinity of delicate mechanical components such as motors, drives and gears or even become mixed in the lubricant and make it ineffective.
Moreover, the build-up of residues impairs the surface finish of the moving surfaces that carry out the rolling action.
However, there is no doubt but that the scraper means and corresponding means for collecting and disposing of the residues constitute a major structural complication of a shaping apparatus which thus becomes a critical point in an automated bakery products manufacturing process.